Volume One: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 122: The Heart Thief

A chaotic brawl erupted in the mountain hollow. Yun Que fought Huan Zhi alone, while Wu Dachuan and the other sword servants clashed with two sword disciples from the East Court. The scene instantly descended into total bedlam.

"Thanks to you! After a month of eating with silver teeth, I've finally gotten used to them. Today, I'll pay you back in kind and let you taste what it's like to eat with fake teeth!" Huan Zhi laughed uproariously, baring his metallic grin, while wielding one flying sword and holding another in his hand.

He no longer feared Yun Que at all. A mid-stage Qi Refining practitioner could control two flying swords; one was enough to neutralize a sword servant's Spirit-Overflowing Ring. He kept the second in his hand specifically to mimic the tactics Yun Que had used against him in the arena. During that battle, Yun Que had defeated him with pure sword aura, leaving him no chance to retaliate. Today, he intended to do the same—not only to defeat his opponent with sword aura but to smash his teeth out with his blade and sever his limbs.

Yun Que quickly fell to a disadvantage, leaping and dodging. Huan Zhi grew increasingly smug, pressing his advantage like a man teasing a monkey, closing the distance between them with every step. Seeing the situation turning dire, Wu Dachuan broke into a cold sweat. Their group of sword servants could barely hold off the two sword disciples; they had no hope of victory, and if the fight dragged on, they were bound to lose. If Yun Que could not defeat Huan Zhi, the North Court would surely suffer today.

"Go to hell!" Huan Zhi roared, unleashing a wave of sword aura.

Yun Que dodged in a slightly disheveled manner, ducking behind one of his companions and shouting, "Help me!"

The person used as a human shield was a thin, small fellow with long hair covering most of his face, making it impossible to see his features. Huan Zhi did not care; he would kill anyone in his way. He slashed fiercely, intending to cut both Yun Que and the person in front of him in two. Just as the sword light flared, the cornered, scrawny figure suddenly threw a punch.

*Boom!*

A single punch actually shattered the flying sword! Huan Zhi never dreamed that the sword in his hand would one day be turned against him. The rebounding blade struck Huan Zhi square in the face, sending blood spraying everywhere. Every one of his silver teeth was knocked out; he had become a toothless dog for the second time. Fortunately, the silver teeth had blocked the blade’s impact, leaving only a gruesome gash on his face. Without them, half his skull would have been split open.

"Ah! My face!!!" Huan Zhi dropped his blade, tumbled to the ground, and writhed in agony, clutching his face.

The brawl in the hollow fell silent. Wu Dachuan and the two East Court disciples felt the sudden, eerie shift in the air.

Huan Zhi was at the fifth level of Qi Refining! Even without his flying sword, the sword aura he unleashed while holding his blade was no trivial matter. Sword servants, relying only on their Spirit-Overflowing Rings, could not possibly block it, let alone with a bare fist!

"Heh-heh, heh-heh."

The scrawny sword servant who had swatted away Huan Zhi stood silently in place, emitting a strange laugh. His hair was filthy, as if it hadn't been washed in years, and a pair of bloodshot eyes rolled slowly beneath the tangles, eventually fixing their gaze on Yun Que.

Wu Dachuan subconsciously stepped back, only now realizing that there was a stranger in his group. He quickly counted heads. He shouldn't have bothered; upon realizing the count, a chill ran down his spine. "Thirteen... thirteen..."

Wu Dachuan felt his heart race. He finally understood why Yun Que had asked him how many people he had gathered. There should have been twelve people, but there was an extra one! Yun Que had clearly sensed the anomaly all along; everything before had been an act.

Yun Que straightened his posture, the disheveled look from moments ago vanishing, a smile playing on his lips. As if to enlighten the others, he pointed to the sword-leaf on the tree branch above. "The bait was well-placed, enough to fool those under the tree, but it was set too low. From other angles, one could see the leaf wasn't growing from the tree, but merely jammed between the branches."

He then pointed at the stranger's body and added, "Don't you think it’s a poor fit? The clothes are too large. You should have killed someone smaller and disguised yourself better; the effect would have been much improved."

With every word Yun Que spoke, Wu Dachuan and the others took a step back. Finally, Yun Que pointed at the strange figure's feet. "Your greatest flaw is right there. Take a look—does a normal person have feet as ugly as yours?"

The creature seemed to understand human speech and looked down. Wu Dachuan and the others followed his gaze. They saw a massive foot protruding from beneath the long robes. It had no shoe, and the five toes were as gruesome as eagle talons, with long nails protruding like daggers, digging into the earth.

Seeing this, Wu Dachuan and the North Court disciples were struck with terror. The short stature, the matted hair, and the savage, oversized feet gave the extra creature a bizarre, unsettling aura—as if a monstrous, savage beast were hidden beneath that small frame.

Wu Dachuan retreated several steps, his legs trembling. Had he not survived many crises, especially the horror of the Mist Mountain tree demons, he might have collapsed. The other sword servants were even worse; many sat on the ground in fear, scrambling away from the creature.

Taking advantage of the moment the creature looked down at its feet, Yun Que attacked! He swung his sword, and a five-foot-long arc of sword aura descended from thin air, aimed directly at the creature's head. Regardless of what kind of monster it was, it was best to kill it first.

Yun Que’s strike was ruthless, but the creature's reaction was swift. Hearing the sword aura, it leapt sideways with startling speed, easily evading the strike.

At that moment, Huan Zhi scrambled up from the ground, his mouth a mess of blood, and urged his flying sword to attack the creature. "Kill him!" Huan Zhi shrieked hysterically. Though he hated Yun Que, the monster was closer, and he intended to kill it first before torturing Yun Que to death.

The two East Court disciples joined in, maneuvering their flying swords in coordination with Huan Zhi. The next instant, however, screams filled the air! The creature swatted Huan Zhi’s flying sword away, and before the two East Court disciples could even launch their blades, a gaping hole was torn through their chests. The creature had moved with terrifying speed, arriving before them and snatching two fresh hearts in its large hands. The two corpses collapsed one after the other.

The two East Court sword disciples, both at the early stage of Qi Refining, died without ever realizing how weak they truly were. In the face of that creature, they were like ants, crushed with effortless ease.

Huan Zhi was shocked to the core. Without a word, he fled on his sword, vanishing in the blink of an eye. He ran with incredible speed! Wu Dachuan and the others were paralyzed with terror, none daring to move. Those were two early-stage Qi Refining disciples; they had been slaughtered without even a chance to fight back!

"Heh-heh! Heh-heh!" The creature let out an icy laugh, tying the two hearts together and hanging them from its waist. People then realized that the creature already had a dozen hearts dangling from its belt, some fresh, others long since withered.

"So, you really are the heart-stealing thief," Yun Que said, his voice deep as he commanded his flying sword. It was now confirmed that this was the culprit who had been murdering people at the foot of the mountain to harvest their hearts.

The creature did not answer. It suddenly crouched, and with a *boom*, it leaped into the air, pouncing on Yun Que like a cannonball! Since the creature had jumped, it was the perfect target. Yun Que unleashed a strike of sword aura with extreme speed.

The creature crossed its large hands in mid-air and slammed them down, batting away the majority of the sword aura! Its fan-sized palms were knotted with veins, the palms and backs covered in scales. No wonder it could take a direct hit from Huan Zhi's flying sword.

Though the creature's hands were large, they could not shield its entire body. The remaining sword aura tore through its clothes, revealing a layer of coarse, curled fur. As it pounced, Yun Que finally saw its face clearly: a pointed snout, monkey-like cheeks, a face etched with fine wrinkles, and deep-set eye sockets. It looked like an ancient, wizened elder, yet also like a demonic macaque! It was hideously ugly—a true monster!